D.W.I. Charge for Mother Whose Child Was in the Car

East Hampton Town police arrested Helena B. Flecker, 42, of Huntington, a little before midnight last Thursday, charging her with driving while intoxicated. Because her son was riding in the back seat, she was charged with aggravated D.W.I. and held on $1,000 bail.
Ms. Flecker was westbound in a 2012 Toyota on Montauk Highway in Montauk, near the fork to Old Montauk Highway, when an officer noticed the car swerving, riding for the most part on the shoulder, and pulled it over. Asked to perform roadside sobriety tests, Ms. Flecker allegedly failed, and failed a breath test as well, police said. A second officer arrived and stayed with the boy, who had been strapped into a child’s car seat, until Ms. Flecker’s sister arrived.
Under the state’s Leandra Law, which makes it a felony to drive drunk with a child under 15 years old, a blood test is required to be given at headquarters in such circumstances, but there were no technicians on hand to administer the test at that time. Ms. Flecker consented instead to take the Intoxilator breath test, which she failed, according to the report.
At a little after midnight on June 26, Gary D. Rea, 44, of East Hampton, was arrested on Three Mile Harbor Road near the marina and charged with D.W.I. Police said he was approaching Copeces Lane when an officer saw his 1999 Ford swerve into the oncoming lane. He exited his car with difficulty, according to the report, and failed the standard roadside sobriety tests, as well as a breath test. He refused to take the more accurate in-station breath test once back at headquarters, police said.
Because Mr. Rea had a prior D.W.I. conviction the charge against him was elevated to the felony level, and he is being held without bail pending an indictment.
Seth H. Grossman, 44, of East Hampton, was driving west through Amagansett at about 1:30 a.m. on June 27 when he made a sweeping illegal U-turn, starting the turn on the shoulder, according to the police report. An officer followed his car, which allegedly accelerated to 60 miles per hour through a 30 m.p.h. zone on Main Street and swerved as it went. Near Cranberry Hole Road, the report states, Mr. Grossman slammed on the brakes and threw the car into reverse.
The officer flashed his emergency lights and the driver then pulled over, lighting a cigarette as the officer approached the car. Mr. Grossman was asked to put it out, which he did. Despite the smoke on the driver’s breath, the officer smelled alcohol, the report indicates, and he had Mr. Grossman take standard sobriety and breath tests. He reportedly failed both, and was taken back to headquarters, where he allegedly failed another breath test with a reading of .08.
Because it was his first alleged offense, and he lives in the area, Mr. Grossman was released without bail the next morning, with a future date in court.
Michael J. Annicelli, 43, of Bedford, N.Y., was charged with drunken driving at about 1 a.m. on Sunday after allegedly running a stop sign on Abram’s Landing Road in Amagansett. He then turned his 2003 Lexus onto Montauk Highway, headed west. Though there were several cars between police and the Lexus, the report says an officer could see it swerving back and forth across the double yellow line.
Mr. Annicelli, who the officer believed was in a drunken state, stepped out of his car unsteadily, police said, and refused to take sobriety tests before being placed under arrest. Back at the station, he refused three requests to take a breath test, police said.
He was released the next morning without bail.
Robert J. Kerr, 49, driving a 2008 Mini-Cooper, was arrested in East Hampton Village at about 11 on Saturday night, charged with drunken driving. A village officer, responding to a radio call from town police, spotted the car on Montauk Highway by CVS and watched, the report says, as Mr. Kerr drove across the yellow lines, then back out onto the shoulder. The driver reportedly refused to cooperate after being arrested, and declined to take the breath test in the station house.
He was released without bail the next morning.
Sag Harbor police made a D.W.I. arrest on Saturday night as well. According to their report, the 2007 Nissan Sentra being driven by Brent Boyce, 32, of Atlanta, was seen by an officer responding to a report of a possible car accident on Route 114 near Hempstead Street, sitting by the roadside with a flat tire. There was a long series of skid marks behind the car, police said.
Mr. Boyce reportedly told the officer he’d lost control turning onto Hempstead from 114, adding that the steering wheel locked. The officer, believing him intoxicated, had him perform roadside sobriety tests and a breath test, both of which he allegedly failed.
He spent the rest of the night at headquarters and was released in the morning, without bail, but with a future date in court.

About the Author

T.E. McMorrow began freelancing for The Star in 2009, before coming on staff, full time, at the end of 2011. He is a member of the Drama Desk in New York. His book, “Nutcracker in Harlem,” illustrated by James Ransome, is scheduled for publication in the fall of 2017 by HarperCollins children’s division.